The International Space Development Conference (ISDC) is the annual conference of the

National Space Society The National Space Society (NSS) is an American international nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. It is a member of the Independent Charities of America and an annual participant in the Co ...

(NSS). Now in its 41st year, these conferences connect the general public and the NSS membership with leaders of contemporary space efforts. The ISDC provides a nexus for industry, government, scientists, advocates, and the public to meet and discuss the latest issues in space technology, science, policy, commerce, medicine, exploration, settlement and much more. Winners of the annual NSS Space Settlement Contest attend and give lectures at the conference, with several interesting activities and programs. With

's major goal being to accelerate the process of space exploration and development they also foster astronautics for students by encouraging them and getting them involved.

1982

The first ISDC was held in Los Angeles in 1982. The CoChairmen were

Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and ergonomics, human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. ...

and Milton Stevens, and most of the convention staff were volunteers from the

Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc., or LASFS, is a science fiction fandom#Science fiction societies, science fiction and fantasy fan society that meets in the Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles area. The current meeting place can be f ...

(LASFS), although it was emphasized that the conference was professional in nature, and would not be a science fiction convention. The Professional Guest of Honor was

Fred Haise Fred Wallace Haise Jr. ( ; born November 14, 1933) is an American former NASA astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot with the United States Marine Corps Aviation, U.S. Marine Corps and United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force, and a test pilot. He ...

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was abort ...

, then CEO of Grumman. Attendees included

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

, Max Hunter, General

Daniel Graham Daniel Lawrence Graham (born November 16, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes, earning recognition as a cons ...

Dick Rutan Richard Glenn Rutan (July 1, 1938 – May 3, 2024) was an American military aviator and officer, as well as a record-breaking test pilot who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight with ...

, and a number of space oriented professionals. Science Fiction author

Robert Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

was the "fan guest of honor". It was intended as a one of a kind convention, but was successful enough that the attendees acclaimed it the "First Annual" Space Development Conference and voted to hold the second meeting in Houston with Art Dula as chairman.

2013

Th
32nd International Space Development Conference
was held at the La Jolla Hyatt Regency, San Diego, California, May 23–27, 2013. The conference theme is "Global Collaboration in 21st Century Space", inviting all nations of earth to join in the greatest human endeavor, to become an interplanetary species. ISDC 2013 was chaired by Dave Dressler of th
"San Diego Space Society"
The opening keynote speaker was

Bas Lansdorp Bas Lansdorp (born 5 March 1977) is a Dutch entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and CEO of the defunct Mars One. Mars One Lansdorp became determined to establish the first permanent human colony on Mars during his studies at the Universi ...

, CEO of

Mars One Mars One was a small private Dutch organization that received money from investors by claiming it would use it to land the first humans on Mars and leave them there to establish a permanent human colony. From its announcement in 2012 to its ...

. Former Indian president Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam spoke at the Friday night Gala dinner about an international initiative involving six nations to build a Space Based Solar Power system (SBSP). Several astronauts presented at ISDC such as

Christopher Ferguson Christopher J. "Fergy" Ferguson (born September 1, 1961) is a Boeing commercial astronaut and a retired United States Navy captain and NASA astronaut. He was the pilot of Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' on his first mission to space, STS-115, which l ...

and

Mae Jemison Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first African-American woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavou ...

2011

The International Space Development Conference covers several broad areas of study related to building a spacefaring civilization, including transportation to and through space, technology needed to live and work in space, and Earth-based activities to advocate for or educate others about space development. The overall theme for ISDC 2011 is "From the Ground Up," emphasizing the tools, resources, and social activities that must be accomplished to make a spacefaring civilization a reality. Participants are encouraged not just to describe an ideal "future state," but to think about the technical, economic, or advocacy steps that must be accomplished to achieve a specific goal. Although the northern Alabama region was hit by tornadoes April 27, resulting in widespread damage and many deaths and injuries, ISDC planners found that local electrical power had been restored to the Von Braun Center and Embassy Suites venues in Huntsville, and restored to the rest of the area within a week or two. Therefore, ISDC 2011 occurred on scheduled. Robert Bigelow, founder and president of Bigelow Aerospace, was the ISDC's Honored Keynote speaker at the Governors' Dinner and Gala. Mr. Bigelow also received the NSS Space Pioneers award for Space Development. The Space Pioneer Award for Science and Engineering was presented to the X-51A WaveRider Team while the prestigious Wernher von Braun award went to the JAXA

Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C ...

Team. The von Braun award was presented by

Frederick I. Ordway III Frederick Ira Ordway III (4 April 19271 July 2014) was an American space scientist and author of books on spaceflight. Ordway was educated at Harvard University and completed several years of graduate study at the University of Paris and other ...

2007

The theme for ISDC 2007 was "From Old Frontiers to New: Celebrating 50 Years of Space Flight" and was hosted by The National Space Society of North Texas chapter of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

over the Memorial Day weekend of May 24–28, 2007. For the third straight year the presenting sponsor for ISDC '07 was the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

(NASA). 2007's ISDC held two pre-conference events; the Symposium on Space Venture Finance on Thursday, May 24 and the bi-annual meeting of the Aerospace Technology Working Group (ATWG) from May 22 – 24. ISDC 2007 included programs, presentations and exhibits focused on space exploration and settlement, astronomy and scientific research, commercial space ventures, space tourism, and other exciting topics. The conference also featured displays of real spaceflight hardware, such as Armadillo Aerospace’s historic 'Quad' rocket vehicle. The Quad vehicles were built by space entrepreneur

John Carmack John D. Carmack II (born August 21, 1970) is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games ''Commander Keen'', ''Wolfenstein 3D'', ''Do ...

and his Armadillo Aerospace team from

Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...

, Texas. One of the Quads, named "Pixel," recently competed in the Wirefly

X Prize Cup The X Prize Cup is a two-day air and space exposition which was the result of a partnership between the X Prize Foundation and the State of New Mexico that began in 2004 when the Ansari X Prize, Ansari X-Prize was held. This led to plans to buil ...

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; ; lit. 'the crosses') is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the county seat, seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 United States ce ...

. ISDC 2007 was held in Addison, Texas (metro Dallas area) at the Intercontinental Hotel. Speakers included NASA

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...

director

Michael Coats Michael Lloyd Coats (born January 16, 1946) is a former NASA astronaut (three spaceflights), raised in Riverside, California. From December 2005 to December 2012, he served as Director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Early life an ...

, U.S. Congressmen

Nick Lampson Nicholas Valentino Lampson (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician who is a former Democratic Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District and the 9th Congressional District of Texas. Early life, education, and early p ...

and

Ralph Hall Ralph Moody Hall (May 3, 1923 – March 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as the United States representative for from 1981 to 2015. He was first elected in United States House elections, 1980, 1980, and was the chairman of the Uni ...

, Apollo 17 astronaut and former U.S. Senator

Harrison Schmitt Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, former NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico. He is the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military a ...

, Alex Tai, chief operating officer of

Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a British-American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate, which retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and opera ...

, local space entrepreneur

, NASA astronaut Dr.

Shannon Lucid Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid (born January 14, 1943) is an American biochemist and retired NASA astronaut. She has flown in space five times, including a prolonged mission aboard the Russian space station ''Mir'' in 1996, and is the only Americ ...

, Mars Exploration Rover project leader Dr. Steve Squyers, Mars exploration visionary

Robert Zubrin Robert Zubrin (; born April 9, 1952) is an American aerospace engineer, author, and advocate for human exploration of Mars. He is also an advocate for U.S. space superiority, writing that "in the 21st century, victory on land, sea or in the air ...

, lunar advocate Dr. Paul Spudis,

Space Adventures Space Adventures, Inc. is an American space tourism company founded in 1998 by Eric C. Anderson. Its offerings include zero-gravity atmospheric flights, orbital spaceflights (with the option to participate in a spacewalk), and other spacefl ...

CEO Eric Anderson, and legendary science fiction author

Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of ''Analog Science Fiction and Fac ...

. Events included speaker tracks on Frontier Transport, Moon and Cislunar (between Moon and Earth) Space Development, The Martian Frontier,

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

(ISS) Science, Space Business &

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Space Medicine Space Medicine is a subspecialty of Emergency Medicine (Fellowship Training Pathway) which evolved from the Aerospace Medicine specialty. Space Medicine is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of medical conditions that would limit success in ...

, Space Sociology, Space Settlement, Education, faster than light travel, and

Solar Power Satellite Space-based solar power (SBSP or SSP) is the concept of collecting solar power in outer space with solar power satellites (SPS) and distributing it to Earth. Its advantages include a higher collection of energy due to the lack of reflection ...

s. Other conference events included DPRG robot challenges, a game room, the premiere o
"Postcards from the Future"
and other space movies, filk singing, a kids program, book signings, a space art show and sale, and space-related exhibits. Some exhibits and the space art show were free to the public. For more information see the official website:

ISDC public webcasts

ISDC 2007 was broadcast "live" from Dallas via

streaming video Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...

from May 25 through May 28, 2007 – courtesy of th
helloWorld
website. Available to anyone with access to a computer and internet connection, the general public was able to follow key remarks and presentations by running their computer's

mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...

or cursor over the TV

broadcast tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-m ...

graphic entitled "Shows" and clicking the "On the Air Now!" link. Archived files of past ISDC conferences can also be reviewed via th
IslandOne
website.

2006

Although typically held over the

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

holiday weekend, ISDC '06 was moved up to the first weekend in May to coincide wit
Space Day
activities sponsored nationwide by

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

. The "Silver Anniversary" conference was held May 4 through May 7, 2006 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California – coming full circle to the very first ISDC 25 years earlier. Held at the LAX Sheraton Gateway Hotel, this was also the first ISDC to be jointly co-sponsored with the

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

-based

Planetary Society The Planetary Society is an American internationally-active non-governmental nonprofit organization. It is involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy for engineering projects related to astronomy, planetary science, an ...

. Speakers and special guests included

Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the recor ...

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

Hugh Downs Hugh Malcolm Downs (February 14, 1921July 1, 2020) was an American television presenter, radio personality, author, and music composer. A regular television presence from the mid 1940s until the late 1990s, he had several successful roles on mor ...

Dennis Tito Dennis Anthony Tito (born August 8, 1940) is an American engineer and entrepreneur. During mid-2001, he became the first space tourism, space tourist to fund his own visit to space, when he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of IS ...

, Gregory Olsen,

Bill Nye William Sanford Nye (; born November 27, 1955) is an American science communicator, television presenter, and former mechanical engineer. He is best known as the host of the science education television show '' Bill Nye the Science Guy'' (1 ...

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American science fiction writer best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. Many of his novels and stories have ecological, cultural, and political themes and feature scientists as heroes. Robinson has ...

, Dr.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysics, astrophysicist, author, and science communication, science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia Univ ...

and dozens of others from various scientific, entrepreneurial and artistic fields. For a listing of papers scheduled to be presented at the conference, access th
ISDC Archives

ISDC2005: Your Ticket to Space
, or the ISDC 200
Call for Papers
Additionally, the National Space Society teamed up with the

Space Tourism Society The Space Tourism Society is a California 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1996 by John Spencer, a former member of the board of directors of the National Space Society, with the goal of promoting space tourism. The STS is based in th ...

to host the ''2nd annual ORBIT Awards'', celebrating leadership in space tourism on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Mr. Dennis Tito's historic flight as the world's first private space traveler, and the 25th anniversaries of

STS-1 STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1) was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The first orbiter, ''Columbia'', launched on April 12, 1981, and returned on April 14, 1981, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 3 ...

, the first

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

mission and the ISDC.

2005

ISDC 2005 was held in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

May 19–25, 2005 at the Sheraton National Hotel with the ''NSS Space Pioneers Awards'' banquet held at the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...

Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly, Virginia, Chantilly area of Fairfax C ...

Dulles Airport Washington Dulles International Airport ( ) – commonly known by its former name of Dulles International Airport, by its airport code of IAD, or simply as Dulles Airport – is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located w ...

, hosted by NSS

Board of Governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

chairman and former ABC-TV "

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of visual perception, vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye ...

" host Hugh Downs and the Honorable

Norman Mineta Norman Yoshio Mineta (, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the cabinet of the United States for US Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. ...

Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

. NSS members met and debated

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

pioneers like Burt Rutan, Elon Musk, and Peter Diamandis, while hearing the latest on the explorations of

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

and extrasolar planets. A few of the many highlights: Presenting sponsor Transformational Space brought a new twenty-foot mockup of its new space vehicle, the t/Space CXT. The Spaceward Foundation erected a forty-foot model of its upcoming

space elevator A space elevator, also referred to as a space bridge, star ladder, and orbital lift, is a proposed type of planet-to-space transportation system, often depicted in science fiction. The main component would be a cable (also called a tether) an ...

competition.

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

director Mark Cowen wowed the crowd with the inside story of NSS Governor and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winning actor-producer

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

' latest IMAX film release, '' Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D''.

Apollo 9 Apollo 9 (March 3–13, 1969) was the third human spaceflight in NASA's Apollo program, which successfully tested systems and procedures critical to landing on the Moon. The three-man crew consisted of Commander James McDivitt, Command Modul ...

astronaut

Rusty Schweickart Russell Louis "Rusty" Schweickart (also Schweikart; born October 25, 1935) is an American aeronautical engineer, and a former NASA astronaut, research scientist, United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft, fighter pilot, as well as ...

announced a bold new plan to study the threat of

Near Earth Object A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (Apsis, perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orb ...

2004MN4.

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Centennial Challenges The Centennial Challenges are NASA space competition inducement prize contests for non-government-funded technological achievements by American teams. Origin NASA's Centennial Challenge Program (CCP) directly engages the public at large in the ...

program announced a new prize competition for producing oxygen from Moon rocks.

's Will Whitehorn shared the latest plans for their new personal spaceflight experience. Burt Rutan of

Scaled Composites Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to d ...

received the coveted

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( ; ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German–American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and '' Allgemeine SS'', the leading figure in the development of ...

award from German

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

Project Apollo The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...

space pioneer

Konrad Dannenberg Konrad Dannenberg (August 5, 1912 – February 16, 2009) was a German-American rocket pioneer and member of the German rocket team brought to the United States after World War II. Early years Dannenberg was born in Weißenfels, Province of ...

, then shared his personal vision of the future.

Past conferences

Previous ISDCs have rotated around the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the following major cities: *1982 –

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

*1983 –

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

*1984 –

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

*1985 –

*1986 –

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

*1987 –

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

*1988 –

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

*1989 –

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

*1990 –

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

*1991 –

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

*1992 – Washington, D.C. *1993 –

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

*1994 –

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

*1995 –

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

*1996 –

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

*1997 –

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

*1998 –

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

*1999 – Houston, Texas *2000 –

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

*2001 –

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

*2002 – Denver, Colorado *2003 –

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

*2004 –

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

*2005 – Washington, D.C. *2006 –

*2007 –

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, United States. The 2020 census population was 16,661. Addison is immediately north of Dallas. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipalities labeled "towns" with a popul ...

*2008 – Washington, D.C. *2009 – Orlando, Florid
2009 conference website
*2010 - Chicago, Illinois *2011 - Huntsville, Alabama *2012 - Washington, D.C. *2013 - San Diego, California *2014 - Los Angeles, California *2015 - Toronto, Ontario *2016 -

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

*2017 -

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

*2018 - Los Angeles, California *2019 - Arlington,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

*2020 - Cancelled due to Covid *2021 - Virtua
available on YouTube
*2022 - Arlington, Virginia *2023 - Frisco, Texas (Dallas area) *2024 - Los Angeles, California *2025 - Orlando, Florida *2026 - Tysons Corner, VA (DC area) *2027 - Los Angeles, California

References

External links

International Space Development Conferences, links to each year's conferenceInternational Space Development Conference 2013 websiteArchived webcasts from previous ISDCs

Official Space Day website of activitiesNational Space Society website
{{Authority control Astronomy organizations Space organizations International scientific organizations Non-profit organizations based in the United States Scientific organizations based in the United States Space advocacy Space colonization Organizations established in 1982 1982 establishments in California